Thoughts and Reflections from Vinnie Vrotny

Month: February 2013

Here is the Prezi that Sheryl Peterson, Hether Hoffmann, and I used as the framework for our ICE Presentation, iPad MediaCamp- Mixing Art and Creativity. What I enjoyed about this particular workshop is that we had attendees actually working with the tools, not just learning them.

Back in the early 1990’s, I had the chance to chat with Pat Bassett, the retiring head of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), then the head of the Independent Schools Association of Central States (ISACS). At that time, Patsaid, “integrating technology was like changing the wheels of a moving train.” Fast forward nearly twenty years, to this past July. My new head of school, Ben Hebebrand, in addressing my first meeting with the administrative team, opened his presentation with the image above. In his opening address, he noted, “at Quest Academy, the train is always moving extremely quickly, […]

This past Saturday, 17 Quest students and I woke up early to travel to Stevenson High School to participate in the Students Involved In Technology (SIT) Conference. They were joined by 300 other students from elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the northern Illinois area. What is extremely powerful about this conference, in my opinion, is the fact that this is a conference for and by students. Adults are around to make sure that everything runs smoothly, but it is student run and student generated. Students propose presentations for their peers. Yes, the adults do run a few […]

The last week of February is one of the most hectic of the year. It is during this week that both the Illinois Computer Educators (ICE) Conference is held in St. Charles IL at the Pheasant Run Resort. This will my 22nd ICE Conference, either on the vendor floor, as an attendee, a spotlight speaker, or workshop presenter. It is during this week that the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) also holds its annual conference. This year the conference will be held in Philadelphia. This conference brings independent school administrators, technology directors, and teachers together to connect, learn, and […]

Along with many other people, New Year’s brings new hope and optimism. Like many others, I made a list of goals, or resolutions, that I intended to try to keep. Now as the pages of the calendar turn to February, it is a good time to measure how successful I was at implementing the goals which I set. They include: Read one book a month – status: I have started many, but have yet to complete the first. This one is still reachable. Participate in the 365 Project – status: I was able to take and upload 17 images in the […]

Thoughts and Reflections from Vinnie Vrotny, Director of Academic Technology at the Quest Academy, Palatine IL